The invention relates to a leak detection dye delivery system for introducing a leak detection dye composition into a climate control system.
Leak detection methods have been developed to analyze fluid systems, such as climate control systems, i.e., heating, cooling, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, using dyes. Some methods employ emissive substances, such as, for example, fluorescent or phosphorescent dyes that are added to the refrigerants and/or lubricants of a climate control system. Suitable leak detection dyes include naphthalimide, perylene, thioxanthane, coumarin, or fluorescein, and derivatives thereof.
Leaks can be detected by observing fluorescence of the dye at leak sites resulting from excitation of the dye with a light source having particular illumination characteristics. For example, suitable light sources for use in fluorescence detection transmit light of wavelengths suitable to excite the dye and cause light emission from the dye. In general, the dyes emit brightly when excited by light in the 190 to 700 nanometer wavelength range.